Rogue Wave, Isabel Jolie [ink ebook reader .TXT] 📗

will be an easier transition than entering middle school without knowing the language. Especially entering a very white middle school.” His eyebrows rose with the word white. Yeah, the Connecticut private school we went to, and the one my brother planned to send his kids to, qualified as extremely white. Didn’t mean the students wouldn’t accept her, but her skin would be one more difference. Regardless, when I met with them, the school encouraged me to take this route as they weren’t set up to take on a foreign student like her.

I had nothing else to say, so I unpacked the dishwasher, effectively terminating our conversation. Gabe didn’t get the hint.

“The tutor you hired. She’s pretty hot.”

“Hmm.” I hired Cali for her educational experience, sight unseen. Plus, her willingness to come out to the island, as opposed to me having to bring Jasmine to the mainland daily, was a big win. In all the time I’d spent with Cali, I hadn’t thought of her as anything other than my adopted daughter’s educator.

“It sucks Poppy isn’t here. I’d been hoping to spend some time with her. Unlike you, I don’t like to be lonely, if you know what I mean,” he droned on. “But you know, she’s not the only young hottie on the island. Maybe I’ll reach out to Luna, see what she’s doing tonight.”

A slick plate slipped out of my hand and shattered on the tile floor.

He laughed. Mother fucker.

Chapter 28

Luna

Any interest in joining Jasmine and me for dinner tonight? She’d like to meet you.

The text taunted me for hours before I responded. Three days had passed since I dropped off my mature, I’m-an-adult-and-above-all-of-this gift for Jasmine.

Dinner wasn’t what had me hesitating. It was more of whether I was willing to move forward as if nothing had happened between us. I debated showing him how I felt by responding with a snappy “no” and proceeding to give him the cold shoulder, a sure sign I wasn’t really okay with how he treated me. But something about that felt juvenile, and I worried playing that game would prove his fears about my youth correct.

So, I put on my big girl panties, as they say, and went to dinner with a cherry pie from the market tucked beside me on the seat and a bottle of wine. I spent at least twenty minutes perusing the cabernet selection, debating if bringing wine meant I expected more than a friendly dinner. I concluded that almost all adults brought wine to dinner, and even if they didn’t, I needed the fortification.

Through the screen door, I could see into the kitchen. Tate sat at the bar, working on his laptop. I knocked lightly, and he smiled that slow grin. My insides plummeted and swirled. He pushed the screen door open, holding it wide for me to enter.

“Hi.” I held up my dinner contributions. “For you.”

“You didn’t need to do that.” He lifted the items from my arms and placed them on the counter. “Thanks for coming.”

“Where’s Gabe?”

“Back in New York. He only came down for the day. He needed my signature on some documents. Easy to do when you have your pilot’s license.”

“Must be nice.” I leaned back on the counter and stared down at his white socks. “Oh. I should take off my shoes.”

“Nah. No worries. We track sand in all the time. You’re probably better off keeping your shoes on so you’re not stepping in it.” We. I looked around for Jasmine, but there was no sign of her.

He wore an off-white cotton sweater and faded blue jeans. Bare feet would have made him model worthy, but in February, thick socks made sense. His new hair cut, short and trim, leant him an older, mature vibe. The small fire in the den filled the living area with a woodsy campfire aroma.

“I didn’t realize that fireplace worked.”

“I had someone clean out the chimney. It’s one of those convertible chimneys that could be used for gas, but I had it set up as wood burning.” He shoved his hands into his back pockets, and an awkward silence fell between us.

My cheeks burned. I had nothing to say. A familiar pull, an invisible connection between us, flowed. I rubbed the center of my chest and scolded myself. He doesn’t feel it. It’s in your head. I stepped closer to the fire, feigning the need for warmth. Then I remembered my purpose. “Where’s Jasmine?”

“Oh, she’s upstairs. Let me call her down.” He climbed a few steps and shouted, “Jasmine. Come on down.” Faintly from up above, a door clicked.

“She took the third floor as her room,” he offered as he gazed up the stairs.

“That’s a great space.” The third floor offered panoramic, unfettered views of the ocean. The ceiling matched the roofline and created alcoves. When I’d been helping him renovate, we’d put in window seats in the alcoves and built-in bookshelves below them. It made an ideal girl’s bedroom, and it had an attached full bathroom.

“Yeah, maybe you can help her decorate it? I put a mattress and bed frame up there, thinking she could pick out what she likes. But every time I show her something, she shakes her head and says, ‘No, thank you.’”

Just then, a tall shadow filled the space behind Tate. He turned and smiled at her. “There you are. This is my friend, Luna. Luna, this is Jasmine.”

I held out my arm, and her gaze fell to my outstretched hand. She placed her slender ebony fingers in mine. My skin appeared ghostly, almost luminescent, next to her raven color. High cheekbones gave her a regal appearance. Her short hairstyle, trimmed close to her scalp, offset her mahogany irises beautifully. Like her adopted father, she wore a cotton long sleeve sweater, jeans and socks, only her socks were multi-colored and looked to be handmade. Her toes wiggled, raising the yellow and red threads.

“You like the socks? Alice made them for her. Did you know she knits socks? That woman